Fall 2004 - Trailcon

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RIDING THE RAILBy Alan Boughton, President, <strong>Trailcon</strong>In late September,my wife Wendyand I, along withanother couple,flew to Frankfurt,Germany, for a whirlwind tripto three European countries in10 days. While that might seemlike an overly ambitious agendafor such a short period of time,the efficient train system inEurope made it all possible –and even pleasant! Not onlycan you travel just about anywhereyou want by train, butyou can do it in record time.Trains zip along at speeds of250 kilometers per hour, andinvariably depart on time, rightto the second! For an extra $11or so, you can reserve a seat ina first-class compartment andreally travel in style and comfort.The meals on board areexcellent, but not cheap.We began our trip in nearbyHanover, so we could check outthe Hanover Truck Show, one ofthe largest in the world. TheMercedes-Benz display alonewas as big as some of ourentire shows! We learned that,while there are no speed limitson the Autobahn (highway) inGermany, trucks are allowedonly in the right lane, and trafficmoves smoothly and unimpeded.Truck drivers there worka shorter day than in NorthAmerica, andtrucking isconsidered askilled andhighly valuedprofession.Hanover is an interesting citythat dates back to the 10thcentury. During World War II,the old section of the city wasalmost totally destroyed.However, in the rebuilding,parts of the remaining originalstructures were transferred toform a “new old town” in thecity’s oldest part.From Hanover, we traveled bytrain to Interlaken, Switzerland,a picturesque resort town in theSwiss Alps nestled between twolakes. Towering over the town isthe famous Jungfrau – Germanfor “Virgin” – Mountain. Duringour stay in Interlaken, we took atrip on the celebrated JungfrauRailway, built in the late 1800s,to Europe’s highest-altituderailway station. At 11,333 feet,we enjoyed a spectacular viewof snow-capped peaks andglaciers. We also rented a carand drove north of Lake Thun,on scenic secondary roads thatwound through the foothills ofthe Swiss Alps. Our destinationwas Luzern, a medieval town onLake Luzern surrounded by theAlps. Curiously, we found thatmore people spoke English inGermany than they did inSwitzerland.
S IN EUROPEwere ample records to guide inthe restoration. That’s why thetwin onion-domed towers ofthe “Frauenkirche” – Church ofOur Lady – continue to dominatethe skyline to this day,though not without controversy.While my buddy and I choweddown and imbibed atOktoberfest, the twoladies took a side tripto Salzburg, Austria,about 150 kilometersfrom Munich, wherethey took in a fourhour“Sound ofMusic” tour. An eightpersonvan tookthem to the birthplace ofWolfgang Amadeus Mozart inOld Salzburg, and to locationswhere the story of the vonTrapp family was filmed. Theyalso visited the ancient fortressof Hohensalzburg – consideredto be the largest fortification inEurope – the magnificentBaroque Cathedral, and theshops in the old town, referredto as the “Altstadt.”All too soon, it was time toboard the plane, fortified withsome hearty German beer andlots of fond memories, back toToronto.Next on the itinerary wasMunich for – what else? –Oktoberfest, the largest festivalin the world. I can onlydescribe it as a lot of Germansdrinking a lot of beer and consuminga lot of meat and fishof every description. Not anideal pastime for abstainersand vegetarians, but plenty ofGerman “Gemütlichkeit.” I waspleasantly surprised by theabsence of high-rise buildingsin Munich. After the devastationof the Second World War,residents had voted by a narrowmargin to restore the cityto its original condition – andhence, no high rises. As theNazis had taken photos ofvirtually every square inch ofMunich before the War, thereSee ya laterIn sharp contrast to the efficiency of the trains in Europe, wenoticed an item in the newspaper recently noting that U.S.airlines are on pace to set a record for lateness. Late arrivalsnationally, at 710,000 for the first six months of the year, andlate departures, at 574,000, were both up about a third overthe same period last year.Can the cansWhile there’s plenty of beer flowing in Germany – manysmall towns have their own breweries – you won’t find any ofit packaged in cans. Instead, Germans quench their thirstfrom returnable bottles. The deposit on one beverage bottle isa whopping 1 Euro, equivalent to about $1.50. That’s a prettystrong incentive to return the empties for recycling.
Page 1 and 2: Fall 2004Presented by Trailcon Leas
Page 3 and 4: EditorialRemembering all the vetera
Page 5 and 6: PITCHING INTrotting out a cure for
Page 7: ON TRACKCN reports rise innet incom
Page 11 and 12: Trucking industry prepares toroll o
Page 13 and 14: And the gold goes to ...private ent
Page 15 and 16: CALENDAR OFEVENTSNovember 7-9CTEA 4

Fall 2004 - Trailcon

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